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I had so much fun last year I would love to go this year too, but you guys always try to plan these things inside of my vacation black out dates which means a ridiculous amount of approval and favors called in for me to escape.

I hope everyone has a great time.

PS: Maybe we should rename these things to PFG seeing as the site is no longer called Aidsmeds, perhaps the get togethers shouldn't be either?

The only overwhelming part seems to be how surprised everyone is that it is so great to meet some of the people you see online. This year is proving difficult to organize because we don't have the services of our travel expert to help get a group for the hotel. I wanted to take a stab at it but I am traveling almost the entire month of May and will not be able to do much. I may try in a few weeks if nothing emerges.

It always works out even if it looks disorganized. I have enjoyed all seven of the ones I have attended and no regrets (except arriving late a few times)

Well, if anyone needs any help, I work for a hotel chain, a very nice, well known hotel chain, Marriott. I also was a Sales Manager and coordinated events, etc. So whoever is planning, let me know if you need assistance, I'd be happy to help.

We really need someone with experience in booking for a group and negotiating a contract. I don't think any of us will think it presumptuous if someone who knows how to do it and has contacts can do this. Typically, we give one, two or even three options and do a quick preference poll. Given the timeframe, we could even dispense with that. Usually by now we have a hotel booked. So if anyone knows how to do this, please step up.

Truth be known, we don't even have final dates pinned down and some of us may not be able to go on certain dates. Usually this all works out and the ones that go are happy and ones that don't wish they did! I hope I can attend.

Has anyone else contacted the hotel? You don't want multiple people calling in about it or else they can raise rates if they don't know it's the same group, they'll flag it as a "compression weekend" which means that there's people looking for rates, generally if more then 3 calls are received for a time period.

That is a good point abso...I think a problem we are having is that with no entire commitment no one wants to put out their credit card to guarantee a certain amount of rooms and then people may not show up. Initially DavidCa who recently moved to California may have contacted them but we should try not to have too many chefs spoil the brew as you say that week will be flagged by hotel staff. Gary, David and Mark have all lent a voice mostly so we will have to better coordinate this AMG if it is to get off the ground.

Jody

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"Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world". "Try to discover that you are the song that the morning brings."

I am in Canada this week (lovely Montreal) so it is difficult for me to do this. I think I know how to try to arrange a group and protect the credit card guarantee (it would have a certain cut off date and those who reserve against the block would be required to guarantee with their personal credit card) to minimize the risk of unsold rooms. I could try to do this next week.

Give me an idea of the number of rooms to ask about. I can't figure out from all of this a good number of fairly committed attendees. Unfortunately, that third week of August would rule me out completely and I really want to be able to lead the Memorial service especially because of Rocky.

So many open questions! I would like the freedom to inquire about availability for all first three August weekends. I also think we should ask at the Lafayette as there are more rooms and it is still fairly close to Hillcrest. I continue to have personal concerns about the Studio when I read the online comments on conventional travel sites.

I have MagicJack for my phone and this allows me to call from Canada as long as I am in a wifi hotspot (my B&B has this.) So....I could take some time from vacation to do this. It is important to me and to all of us. What do you think"

I am flexible on the time, every weekend in August is open for me right now. The Lafayette sounds good also to me as I have not really researched Studio anyhow and we will find ways to get around I am sure. Thanks for your efforts Gary.

Jody

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"Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world". "Try to discover that you are the song that the morning brings."

I have pm my opinion of Studio to Abso.Ganted it is in the middle of Hillcrest, and overlooks a freeway (it's practically on the freeway) and on a drive by, I honestly recon it operates as low-income temp housing, but welcomes guests.The front door is always locked (with a big stick on letters saying so) and their signage outside reads daily, weekly monthly.

In San Diego a car is a necessisity.We don't walk down here in our happy little corner of the country.

Lafayette isn't within walking distance (of Hillcrest), though equidistant from Hillcrest as are all the older 'resort' style hotels in Mission Valley, giving you more options.

I apologize for being AWOL for a bit; numerous crises at work and other things have been overwhelming. Anyway, this is the email I received from Studio 819

Thank you for reply.

Could you tell us your plan? Check in date/out and number of people and room.

We need to inform you that we will be modernizing the elevator at Studio 819.

The modernization project will begin on June 16, 2014 and will take approximately ten weeks to complete.

During this time there will be no elevator service at Studio 819.

Access to the upper floors and parking garage will continue to be available by using the stairs.

In consideration of this inconvenience, we will be providing 10% discount for the period during which the elevator remains out of service. If you have any questions please contact me anytime.

Thank you very much in advance for your understanding and continued tenancy at Studio819 Residential Hotel.

Sincerely,

Management at Studio819 Residential Hotel

Personally, I'm OK with not having an elevator IF we're on a lower floor. If others aren't OK with that, and if they can't give us rooms on lower floors, I completely understand that too. In that case, the Lafayette, while very nice, isn't as convenient, but is a great option.

Has anyone else contacted the hotel? You don't want multiple people calling in about it or else they can raise rates if they don't know it's the same group, they'll flag it as a "compression weekend" which means that there's people looking for rates, generally if more then 3 calls are received for a time period.

Yes, I contacted Studio 819 and posted their rates and response quite a while back in this thread. I doubt they're gonna jack their rates up after sending them to me (hopefully not!). If you can assist with negotiating with them, PM me and I'll forward the other correspondences I've had with them.

I have pm my opinion of Studio to Abso.Ganted it is in the middle of Hillcrest, and overlooks a freeway (it's practically on the freeway) and on a drive by, I honestly recon it operates as low-income temp housing, but welcomes guests.The front door is always locked (with a big stick on letters saying so) and their signage outside reads daily, weekly monthly.

In San Diego a car is a necessisity.We don't walk down here in our happy little corner of the country.

Lafayette isn't within walking distance (of Hillcrest), though equidistant from Hillcrest as are all the older 'resort' style hotels in Mission Valley, giving you more options.

It's not nearly as ghetto as all that; many hotels use card access for their doors. I've stayed there a couple times, and it was fine - rooms are small, but it's not been an issue. The ability to walk to so many areas that we're likely to want to go to is a huge plus. We've actually walked from Lafayette to Hillcrest a number of times, though I won't say that I'll always do it. I found that the hotels in the Mission Valley / Hotel Circle area had rates very close to Studio without the location that many of us will appreciate.

Mini and mum...Glad to hear you will attend. I know you will have a great time, much like Mexico City and Boston!

Unfortunately due to continued elder care issues with my mom I will not be able to attend AMG14 in SD...The live in with my mom has some health issues she needs to attend to beginning in June and I am unable to commit to anything right now. Any vacations or weekend getaways will be catch as catch can.

I know all who attend will have a great time, we always do. It is a great bunch of people. Be well all.

Jody

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"Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world". "Try to discover that you are the song that the morning brings."

For what it's worth: It has to be a pretty rat bag hotel for me to be bothered because I generally don't bequeath a poop about the lodging as long as I have a safe place to tuck me and my stuff in. I want to see you people and the city, in that order.

As long as there is a place nearby for drinks and a bit of food where we can hang, I am golden.

I'm just putting this out there because I know economics are a big deal for many of us, myself included. And since I don't yet see a date confirmed, I'm guessing the grants stuff is also kind of iffy or not happening or something. If that is the case, then I think we should definitely put real consideration into the price differences.

Without Dennis or Phil to do the planning no one is willing to step up and take over? I figured the boys who pushed so hard for it to be in San Diego would make it happen but it doesn't seem like anyone has any interest in the planning portion so far.

Without Dennis or Phil to do the planning no one is willing to step up and take over? I figured the boys who pushed so hard for it to be in San Diego would make it happen but it doesn't seem like anyone has any interest in the planning portion so far.

I know we voted for San Diego, but I agree, that doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Tim and I recently chatted about this and both of us are very much interested and we don't like the idea of a "gap" year.

I don't have to point this out to those who have attended, but the location is really secondary.

The real treat is spending time with each other. While we did a lot of the sight seeing things last year, I think the best time we had was in a tiny little bar one flight up from an Armenian restaurant - and on the rooftop terrace where we supplied our own bar and had a very memorable time.

My current schedule doesn't allow me much time to be the planner. But I am very much interested.

I know we voted for San Diego, but I agree, that doesn't seem to be going anywhere.

Tim and I recently chatted about this and both of us are very much interested and we don't like the idea of a "gap" year.

I don't have to point this out to those who have attended, but the location is really secondary.

The real treat is spending time with each other. While we did a lot of the sight seeing things last year, I think the best time we had was in a tiny little bar one flight up from an Armenian restaurant - and on the rooftop terrace where we supplied our own bar and had a very memorable time.

My current schedule doesn't allow me much time to be the planner. But I am very much interested.

Just saying . . .

HUGS,

Mark

Location IS secondary, I'm from Sacramento, and work for a hotel and can help in coordinating a lot of that end of it. There's a HUGE Gay Friendly area in Sacramento called Midtown, lots of cute bars, private dining rooms, and a great LGBT organization. I'm still in the closet, but can put anyone in touch with the group there. I think it'd be pretty awesome. So, I dont want to rehash a vote, but people seem to have given up hope on this, and that's just something we CANNOT allow, NONE of us give up hope! We might stumble, but we get right back up. So lets just start organizing and whether its 5 or 500 of us that show up we can do it. Anyone with me on this? I have a lot going against me helping here, i'm closeted to my family with this, and at work, etc but I will put my heart into getting this event going. Just let me know whether to start it or not. If your really set on San Diego then ok we will do that. Here's my idea:

8/21-8/25Sacramento, CA. I can book 10 Rooms under a group rate, I'll find out rate if you guys agree. I think we need to not dwell on small turnout or low amount of responses, so lets say first 5 people that respond Yay or Nay we'll go with that and then move forward with San Diego, if we switch to San Diego, I have contacts there that I can call and get rates, etc for those same dates. I have NO problem finding hotels, etc and orchestrating rates. Let me know what you guys think. The hard part is that with no one from San Diego there coordinating anything it's going to be a bit harder to do this remotely. However, not impossible. We can do this!

I've asked the group for a date several times to get concrete prices. I didn't hear confirming anything toward selecting one. I posted additional info. on one of the hotels to help choose a hotel. Still, we selected to visit a great city in a nice time of year. All we need to do is to select a date. I'll get the rates. I can look back, but I believe they were somewhere between $120 and $140 without any negotiation. I attempted to help with the planning of this earlier, but I wasn't getting much in the way of helpful response.

Sacramento was in the upper 90's in mid-August last year while San Diego was around 75 (the average is 91 vs 76 for that time of year). That may not mean much to everybody, but I know it will to many! San Diego is (arguably) one of the nicest cities in this state, and I'd hate for us to miss it because we need to select a date! In fact, I was just there a week and a half ago visiting my sister who was there on business. As always, I loved it! (This is a nay, by the way! )

Can we work around the dates of Aug 21-25? If not, we need to select another one. If so, I'll get rates at hotels that I have personal knowledge of (i.e. that I've stayed in). I'll also get rates at other nearby hotels, too, if needed.

The Wee One and I would much prefer San Diego. I haven't said anything about a date because we are probably the most flexible with our time. My only request David (BTW, when did you move to Ca.?) is that we not stay in the hotel with the broken elevator unless you guys are willing to carry Mini up multiple flights of stairs when her legs go out. Did I mention Wee One is up to 140 pounds?

Temperature for us is also a definite factor. 75 vs. 91? Yeah, 75 wins every time.

I apologize that I've not been more active. Been having a hectic year and my mind is hardly focusing on things correctly. I've said all along I'm ok with any date as long as we can nail it down. I do prefer the later part of August at this point as it'll give me time to deal with all that is necessary with the death of a parent.

Well, There we have it step 1! 8/21-8/25 it is! David_CA has volunteered to do the hotel arranging, so step 2 should be cleared up soon assuming David has time right now. At this point Grants committee should be notified as well. We also should now begin talking what we want to do and formulate an Agenda, which is step 3. We're making good progress, as they say in field of dreams if you build it they will come! SO, lets build this vacation together! I firmly think we can get the rate at around $109, me, i'll couch surf with a few people, (Ohhhhhh IrishEyes......I'm coming overrrrrrrrr) Lol! Irish has said I can use his car, woohoo, so i'll probably fly down. Step 4 will be sending out the Agenda, and requesting donations, etc. Step 5 will be talking to anyone we know to go to this group. Thoughts? I'm not taking over this in any way, but just nudging the ball that was stuck in cement along. We need to move quick, so lets put a date to get all this completed by 6/20, (I understand the Agenda might take longer) then people can book tickets, hotels, etc. We're starting to push our luck with hotels, rates will begin to rise as soon as the managers do their 30 60 90 day forecasts. If they see the possibility of compression while doing their 60 day, they'll raise rates if we're not careful.

Ok, so let me know more thoughts, seems like we've also created the planning committee! David, let me know if you need help. Wolfter, me too, its been a crazy 4 months since DX....Mark, the people that voted for San Diego, we need to get them reenergized so if we all begin talking about AMG a bit more in other feeds and directing them here that'd be great, I'm trying to figure out how to add a link to this thread in my signature line telling people to check it out. Thanks everyone

I'll get firm rates for the Lafayette (very nice hotel) and Studio 819 (better location but elevator is still under renovation, I believe). If there are any other suggestions of hotels, we can look into those, too, but I think most will be pleased with these two (I've stayed in both fairly recently).

I also think we can get rates down to a bit over $100. How many rooms shall I enquire about - 10? It's great to see some activity and interest!

I'll get firm rates for the Lafayette (very nice hotel) and Studio 819 (better location but elevator is still under renovation, I believe). If there are any other suggestions of hotels, we can look into those, too, but I think most will be pleased with these two (I've stayed in both fairly recently).

I also think we can get rates down to a bit over $100. How many rooms shall I enquire about - 10? It's great to see some activity and interest!

I have a wedding on Friday, the 22nd (and this has happened with previous AMGs) but it is feasible for me to get out to the west coast on Saturday morning and join the group a bit late. I want to lead the Memorial Service especially for Rocky this year and the other weeks we were looking at were impossible for me.

While I understand the argument of proximity of the Studio, I really think the larger group would benefit from the nicer hotel (including the elevator) at the Lafayette.

I wish I could have helped with the planning snags but being gone all of May (Montreal then Alaska) and moving for the first time in thirteen years in mid June has put a dent in my time.

Hoping this new burst of energy can get us a hotel in San Diego for the third week in August. I will do my best to attend..I hate the thought of missing.

I will hopefully have some (discounted) rates for those two hotels for that weekend in the next day or two. We can then go from there. I'm not familiar with negotiating rates, etc with hotels, so I may ask for assistance, but I'm more than willing to get the ball rolling, etc. It'll be great to see the group again; we both missed it last year due to the move 'cross country!